The Desert-Like Grassland?

[Irish]

What's up with the grassland map, supposed to be the easiest one... having the only (that I can find) viable body of water on an edge of the map? (The opposite edge as where I set up, but that's my own fault as a noob.) Looks like there should be water all over the friggin' place here, not dry river/stream beds. Not trying to rant or anything, but damn.

[Suzaku]

Depends on where you set up, but there's probably another water source or two you've overlooked. The map is static, so you can look for one online and figure out where you are and where you need to go to get what you want.

[Maehlice]

It's not your fault. After Update 3, Grasslands became the worst start. Prior to that, Coal Generators didn't require Water.

[sansee]

Uhm, there's at least four bodies of water there, in addition to the bigger waterfall. Still good as a tryout/starting point.

[Sievers]

The grasslands are easy to build on and have a wealth of basic nodes (although usually lower purity on average) but the big downside is that mid- and high-tier resources are nearly always a lot farther away than they would be near the other starting locations. Unfortunately, the grasslands have gotten a lot less useful since coal power started requiring water to function.

My personal opinion is that the grasslands are only really good for two things:
- A first-time player getting their feet wet and experiencing the very basics before starting over somewhere more useable, or
- A late(r) game area for large scale iron, copper, and limestone factories that would be transported en masse to another location for more factories or to go into storage or whatever.

Also, just in case you weren't aware, all the starting locations are on the same map so you can absolutely travel elsewhere if you want to continue on the same save.

Personally, I recommend the Northern Forest as a starting location. Ridiculous amounts of pure nodes -- you will likely run out of factory room way before you run out of raw materials. Also much more centralized to a lot of different mid- and late-game resources such as coal, sulfur, quartz, caterium, etc. The downside, of course, is less viable flat space for factories. Honestly though, I think this actually teaches the very important lesson of "thinking vertically" more than any new player would learn in the vast open flatness of the grasslands.

My 2 cents. I typed more than I thought I would going into this, maybe someone will get some use out of the information lol.

[Irish]

Thank you all, kindly. I'll see if I can salvage the situation utilizing the information you've provided. :D

[Irish]

Originally posted by Sievers:

Also, just in case you weren't aware, all the starting locations are on the same map so you can absolutely travel elsewhere if you want to continue on the same save.

Would you mind elaborating a little on this? All the starting locations?

[Suzaku]

Originally posted by Irish:

Originally posted by Sievers:

Also, just in case you weren't aware, all the starting locations are on the same map so you can absolutely travel elsewhere if you want to continue on the same save.

Would you mind elaborating a little on this? All the starting locations?

The 4 maps you choose from when you first start a session are not maps. They're starting locations on the same, singular map.

[Irish]

Originally posted by Suzaku:

Originally posted by Irish:

Would you mind elaborating a little on this? All the starting locations?

The 4 maps you choose from when you first start a session are not maps. They're starting locations on the same, singular map.

Oh, my... Thanks for that info. Um, there's a control binding for "Map" in the options, but... it doesn't seem to work. Is that something I gain access to later or is it simply not a thing yet?

[Suzaku]

Yes, you unlock it through researching Quartz in the MAM. Researching everything in the MAM is highly recommended.

[sansee]

Originally posted by Irish:

Would you mind elaborating a little on this? All the starting locations?

Technically, the different areas on the (4km**2 handmade) map are called biomes.

[Irish]

Ah, I see. Well, I'm feeling a little more satisfied and comfortable with this now. Thank you guys :D